4.19.2009

Time to Build My Brand Back Up

Me and him both. This is the most important man in the playoffs, for now, and I can't wait. Apologies to Rose (Celtics will adjust, can Rose make the superhuman rock-solid, I refuse to believe that team is always there for him in any structurally sound way), and anyone else I missed because I was off in music crit realm yesterday and barely watched. Am willing to hear other nominees.

This might have to be an open thread for now, but one point: What are the chances the Ariza is pretty much what we hope TT might one day become?

Oh, and Texans out there, please help me convince Lady Shoals that she really, really needs to be excited about her Mavs vs. Spurs. I like the Mavs as underdogs, maybe even miscreants and misfits, instead of the establishment. It's like the old days, sort of.

BONUS: Joey continues to rain hot fire with his most impassioned, and yet sympathetic (for him and them) defense of the Spurs ever.

How about Yao? In a season where he actually plays healthy and "underwhelms" with 19 and 10, he opens the playoffs PERFECTLY in a rout over a conference up and comer? It's killing me that they'll end up playing the Lakers so early if he actually plays dominant ball...

Can someone convince me that Brooks is legit #1 scorer? (in addition to Yao in the post and Artest when things line up right)

Also, I only found out recently that Ariza is Venezuelan. I wish I could do something with that. Brazilian players actually play Brazilian to me; Spanish players all play the same weird way, though I have no idea how to call it Spanish. But I don't know enough about Venezuela, and have no points of comparison.

To be sure, I suppose I see Thomas as so much more of a gazelle due to his incredible 'length'. Also seeing Shannon hit threes gives me a funny mix of emotions as a cavs fan(mostly bad as hes a laker, but still, thought he could be out of the league by now).

Ariza has skill. TT does things without knowing, without skill. He gets blocks, even though I've never heard anyone say he has "good timing". He doesn't know where to be on defense. His jumpers are luck.

Ariza may not have a true analog. He's Posey-ish in terms of his general frame and defensive ability, but Posey is a boxier, more mechanical player who moves accordingly. Ariza has greater grace on his feet. And I don't really see Ariza and TT in the same class of player. Both are raw, but Thomas seems almost petulantly wedded to staying that way. Ariza, in the last two or three years, reflects a concerted effort to develop real skills. He can moderate his movements. Thomas just seems to be Thomas, without much thought.

I like everything salt_bagel has said in this thread.

shoefly, why is Ariza less sympathetic with the range? Gives him less of a hopeless athlete vibe? I could see that, but, personally, I've never thought of him that way. I don't think of Thomas that way, either. I think hopeless athlete, I think someone like Blatche. And the not-yet-arrived Stanley Robinson, who will be a league leader in this category beginning November 2010.

It's kind of the way I'm dissapointed that J.R. Smith is such a great three point shooter. I want to see wild, flailing drives to the basket mixed with moments of exceptionalism. Actually, I retract my statement. I think I'm just reacting to the fact that that team seems so well constructed and designed and taking it out on him. I really want to see Lebron do something amazing and I'm prematurely compensating by giving the Lakers the black hat.

In terms of style of motion and how he makes an impact, Ariza does have some Pippen in him. Of course he's not comparable at all when looking at the total package (especially basketball IQ, offensive arsenal and ball handling). I'd say he has similar physical tools but is just less skilled in a variety of aspects. The way he intercepts passes and then races down the court probably reminds me of Scottie the most.

As far as the mavs as rabble rousers instead of the establishment. I would imagine it is always a study in contrast and there can be no larger symbol of the aristocracy than the ODD YEAR CHAMPIONSHIPS spurs.

If they bring out the "El Heat" jerseys when it goes back to Miami, it'll be huge. More seriously, Beasley needs to get angry about something, anything.

An aside: For the past couple hours I've been trying to find the right way to say Andre Miller is good, but in a maddeningly mediocre way. Every time I think I have the description right, it sounds like I'm giving him too much credit.

even taking in his appearance on the cover of nba jam 99, I'd say miller tops Van horn. Chambers no, Bogut, doubtful, but can't really judge his career yet. But the fact that he leds himself to comparison with such a funny collection of dudes manages to sum him up quite nicely

I just don't think it's right to say he's average or even slightly above average. I mean, he's actually a fair triple double threat. Can you accumulate numbers that way without being good? Can you be good without ever being impressive at any point? Andre Miller is the Shane Battier of stats.

One of things I like about Ariza is his meanness. Maybe I'm just thinking about the Portland incident, but dude's got a kind of meanness to him that I love (not that I'm applauding what happened). Ariza has this awesome blend of physical gifts and sheer scrappiness. With this combo, Ariza had no choice but to realize his potential. That's the difference between him and TT. So that being said the Posey + TT seems to be about the right mathematics.

I guess I meant that Andre Miller collects solid numbers in all categories without ever doing anything that looks consummate. It's like his stat-making ability is completely independent from his basketball skills. I don't know. He just bothers me.

Even if it happens by accident, TT's midrange game is something you never see from Ariza/

I've Witnessed both Ariza and TT block an LBJ shot out of bounds but Tyrus' block was a combination of bounce, strength and length which defies anything Ariza could express.

TT's body language tells me he is shocked by what his body can do, like he is a tiny alien pilot in a human costume. Every once in a while the pilot says, "I wonder what this can do" and pushes a button marked in alien script. I can't understand his technically good jumper, his turbo boosters, his strength and his fickle detachment, otherwise.

I think this is the first time any FD writer has mentioned the Mavs in a post. At least that I've seen. Down here in Austin (smack dab in the middle of Big D and SA on I-35), this series is the NBA finals. Every game will be hard fought, every quarter a Gettysburg.

The thing about Ariza is that he'd be doing exactly the same things on a bad team, but they wouldn't do anything to make that team better. I think there's a sub-class of players like that: there's some quality their respective games that produces plays that help make a good team needs to be great, but on a mediocre or bad team, those same things have no effect on how the team plays. Posey and Horry are other examples.

They're different from the "numbers without effect" players. Those are players who average solid numbers but whose numbers rarely seem to affect a game im a significant way Andre Miller strikes me as such a player. So do Z-Bo, Boozer, and Marbury.

Webber said in the opening that Orlando's reliance on 3s might bite them in the playoffs, and they needed to get the ball to Dwight. I had the impression that there was some off-camera discussion about whether Philly could even win a game. C-Webb carriedvit into the break and seemed imcredulous that Orlando was visibly ignoring Dwight when he was open.

Of course, in LA they’ve been talking about Ariza as the next coming of Cooper, although that seems like a lazy analogy since a wiry frame and good defense are all they really share. Ariza seems to have some sort of bizarre gaze, which makes an Horry comparison even more apt. Whereas Tyrus seems to be genuinely spaced out when walking back to a time out, Ariza gazes into some strange netherworld, dare I say it, almost autisticly in a way that Horry would.

It’s as if the workings on a basketball court makes complete and perfect sense to them, but then the mere immanence of leaving that space switches something off and another thing on, and they walk off the court looking like they’ve just been transported from some far flung time and space.

Jackson once said that Horry was the only player who never had to answer for his actions on the court, and one has to wonder if Ariza will one day be so perfectly actualized a player in Phil’s eyes.

I liked the moment on Saturday when Glen Davis was driving to the hoop and Tyrus, his former college teammate, fouled him and wrapped him up to keep him upright, with a demeanor that entirely said "Sorry bro, I really don't want to be doing this to you." Jordan, Bryant, or Wade, in the same position, would have knocked Davis silly!